


Some things you don't see coming

by Trashibesensei



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Basketball, F/F, Jock AU, lots of staring
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-14 15:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16915461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashibesensei/pseuds/Trashibesensei
Summary: Some things you just don't see coming.Until they hit you in the face.Catra and Entrapta are forced to watch Scorpia's probably most important basketball match of the season where the Horde is facing against Bright Moon Academy's basketball team. Not interested in basketball at all, Catra quickly finds something - or someone else - who she immediately takes interest in instead. However, getting lost in the amazing, blue eyes of Bright Moon's basketball captain was only one of the things that Catra didn't see coming that night.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Eyes and staring are the central theme of this piece right here. There will probably be a second chapter but I don't know when yet. I wrote this in the heat the moment because I just love this series so much.

“Remind me why we’re here again?”

“We are here because we promised Scorpia - our best friend - to be good friends and go watch her game tonight, because it seems to be important to her. It’s the third time that you’re asking me this. Want me to record my answer so you can play it over and over again? You seem to be little forgetful toda-”

“Jeez okay, please stop talking, you nerd. And what the hell are you even doing?” Catra snatched a purple gameboy out of Entrapta’s hands, making the computer nerd gasp in surprise and protest as she had been in the middle of a very intense session of Tetris. While trying and obviously struggling against Catra to gain her gameboy back from her allegedly other best friend, Catra only held her arm away further out of Entrapta’s reach, giving her a scolding look.

“Don’t you dare think that you get to fuck around with your little gameboy here when we’re both forced to sit through this. _Together_ ,” Catra snarled and Entrapta pouted but gave in nonetheless. Catra let the gameboy drop in her bag between her legs.

“Who are we up against anyway? I don’t want to suffer through this if it’s gonna be barely survivable because it’s super boring,” Catra said while scanning the gym and the crowds on the opposite side of the basketball court where the players were currently warming up on, noticing that the benches were pretty crowded for today’s game.

She always hated games in the gym because of the annoying squeaking of sneakers against the gym floor or the heavy smell of sweat and rubber in the air. She liked games that took place where she could breathe in fresh air.

“We’re going to be playing against Bright Moon today.  _Our biggest rival?_ Scorpia has been talking about how excited she is for the game all week, Catra! She said that they’re gonna be a very hard nut to crack because they have remained pretty much undefeated this season. But Scorpia also said that she thinks our team will -”

“Okay, thanks, that’s all I wanted to know,” Catra cut her off but Entrapta didn’t even mind it as much. Catra and Scorpia were one of the few people willingly listening to her or her weird “science headcanons” as she had coined them when they were together and that was currently more than enough for her.

“Bright Moon, huh? Aren’t they all just a bunch of useless jocks anyway?” Catra mumbled boringly, arms crossed over her chest and her whole form crouched over in annoyance paired with impatience as she would have rather been anywhere else but here right now. When would this stupid game start anyway?

Entrapta was already opening her mouth to release another onslaught of information regarding their enemy team (that girl just always seemed to have way too much information on anything, really) but quickly shut it again when she saw Catra’s warning glare. “If you got anything to say, make it short.”

Entrapta sighed and tried to mentally cut her information down to the most salient parts but was quickly interrupted when the crowd around them suddenly started cheering loudly.

Apparently, the game was about to start soon as all the players from both teams came piling onto the court and were greeted by loud cheers, clapping and whistling.

Catra had to shield her sensible ears because one particularly loud and severely annoying girl was screeching love confessions at the players of their team right into her ear while she was also bouncing up and down on her seat next to them.

Entrapta watched the teams assemble with fascination and tried to spot their best friend on the court.    
“There she is!” she screamed against the crowd and pointed towards one particularly tall and bulky player in the middle of the field.

Scorpia almost stood out like a sore thumb on the court simply because of her short, white hair and overall captivating presence. She was huge compared to the other players even though they were already pretty tall themselves, but her presence just seemed to demand attention immediately, placing all the other players in her shadow.

However, she wasn’t the only one with an overwhelmingly outstanding aura around her on the field.

After Catra had spotted Scorpia among all the other basketball players, her attention immediately shifted to a player from Bright Moon’s basketball team.

The girl was at least just as tall as their friend - if not even a few inches taller - and her silky, smooth blond hair was almost too much for her hair tie to handle to remain in a simple high ponytail on top of her head.

She was extremely buff - every movement of her arms put another endearing shadow to her biceps and triceps - and she wore such a confident smile on her face that Catra almost felt bad for their team because this girl seemed so sure of herself and her team’s victory that even Catra had no doubt about their success today.

The shimmering lagoon-blue eyes of the girl roamed over the crowds, and with the same confident smile widening even more, she waved back at the people around her -  and that’s when Catra noticed how much these crowds were actually freaking out _because of her_.

She heard screeches, cries and roars all at once when the girl acknowledged her fans and even the girl next to her was screaming the name _Adora_ at the top of her lungs now as if someone was holding her at gunpoint and she was about to die.

“Uh, who exactly is that tall, blonde girl?” Catra tried to low-key ask Entrapta, who always seemed to know everything and all and pulled her red headband down over her ears so that they would be at least a little bit protected from the screams around them. She wasn’t really fond of the idea of losing her hearing ability just yet.

Her friend whirled around to face her, her long purple locks hitting Catra square in the face as she did so. As they would so often do, because Entrapta had absolutely no control over anything she was doing as long as it was not science-related. Catra growled.

“Isn’t she just gorgeous?!” Entrapta screamed back, hands firmly clasped together and her eyes sparkling with excitement and the same ecstasy everyone around them seemed to be sharing. Except for Catra, who - as per usual - had no idea what the hell was even going on.   
“That’s Adora! She is the captain of Bright Moon’s basketball team and she is absolutely legendary! Ever since she became captain, her team remained undefeated, which is why Scorpia was so nervous about facing her. And also because she’s _just so beautiful_. She is also top of her school, honor student and all and in general just amazing because-”

But Catra wasn’t even listening to her anymore.  _Adora_ had just locked eyes with her and for a short moment, Catra seemed to be feeling what everyone around her was apparently feeling too. When these breathtaking, blue eyes locked onto her, she felt absolutely incapable of moving. Adora’s eyes held such an intensity in them that hers refused to look away and a feeling as if a lightning had just struck her paralyzed her whole body.

However, something unexpected happened as the two girls remained staring at each other, both appearing to be lost in and fascinated by each other’s presence.

The confident smile on Adora’s lips faltered for a second. And then she turned away, releasing Catra from the spell that had restrained her from any kind of movement. Or even breathing, as she noticed now that the breath she had apparently been holding was released as well.

Catra was dumbstruck, to say the least. She had never felt anything like that before - so spellbound just because someone was looking her in the eyes, blocking everything out that was around her and not the other girl - and so she also couldn’t really explain to herself why she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Adora anymore after this brief eye-contact with her. Suddenly, Adora was everything that Catra was interested in.

The blonde jock looked a little rattled and confused herself but was quickly recovering her confidence when one of her teammates slung an arm around her neck and pulled her into a last motivating group talk.

Entrapta suddenly nudged her side and she almost hissed at the girl who tried to get her attention for something that she was pointing at on the court.   
“Scorpia is waving at us! Let’s wave back!”

Reluctantly taking her eyes off of Adora’s muscular back that was now facing her, she moved her eyes towards her best friend on the field and waved back, giving Scorpia an encouraging smile back and even a thumbs up to which Scorpia replied with a wide and happy smile herself.

Some announcements were being made and the crowd slowly calmed down, while the teams retreated to give their motivation speeches.

On the opposite side of the field, Catra could make out groups of girls holding up posters with Adora’s name on it and all types of weird stuff written on them.

 _Adora, let me have your children!_  
_I owe my life to Adora’s biceps!  
Adora’s thighs could smash my face any time!_

“These poster don’t even have anything to do with basketball!” Catra complained loudly but her complaints fell on deaf ears. Entrapta was currently busy with buying all the snacks from some unfortunate freshman passing by who was selling all kinds of stuff to the crowd, and Entrapta took her sweet time examining each snack closely to find those with the perfect shape and especially size for her, making agitated parents and other students around them groan in annoyance when she was barely finished when the game was just about to start. The freshman left with hardly anything to sell anymore, and Entrapta was already ripping one snack after the other open, poking Catra in the face with some chocolate bar but the latter was not really in the mood for something sweet right now. Or ever. Sweets made her teeth hurt.

The referee was now on the field with all the other players, basketball in his hand. The gym went quiet. Wondering what team will lay their hands on the ball first.

And then the referee blew the whistle and started the game with the jump ball.

It were Scorpia and Adora reaching out for the ball first, but Scorpia was just one moment faster than the other jock and claimed the ball for the Horde (yeah, that’s what their school’s basketball team was actually called. No joke.)

Their team quickly advanced to the other side of the court with an obvious run-and-gun style. Scorpia passed the ball to another player but it quickly found it’s way back to her as she sprinted forwards and stopped to attempt a three-pointer that was successfully blocked by Bright Moon’s defense - or let’s say, _Adora_.

Claiming the rebound for team Bright Moon, the Horde quickly fell back into the defense and Adora pushed forwards.

Catra couldn’t even keep up with how fast this game was unfolding and Entrapta seemed to be more invested in her food than the actual game. Catra even noticed that the other girl was sneakily trying to get her gameboy out of her bag again, but she quickly grabbed Entrapta’s wrist stopping her, though not really taking her eyes off the game.

Just as she grabbed Entrapta’s wrist, Bright Moon went through with an impressive alley-oop that Adora ended so fucking gracefully with a reverse dunk that her jaw fell open.

The crowd exploded.

Girls cried.

Girls _fainted_.

And Adora flashed the same confident smile at the crowd and Catra swore she saw the girl even quickly glimpsing towards where she sat but the game was too quick to resume for Catra to be entirely sure of it.

That was definitely one way to commence a game. And it almost made Catra believe that the outcome of the game had been pretty much settled right this moment.

Well, if it weren’t for the Horde’s captain, Scorpia, to use the current high of team Bright Moon caused by the success of their amazing reverse alley-oop dunk to start another initiative and scoring an almost equally as impressing goal with a difficult fadeaway shot.

The crowd was confused at the fast pace of the offensive but were nevertheless also exploding - after all, this was still Horde territory and their team playing.

Even Adora seemed slightly perplexed but astonished nonetheless. Catra saw something akin to a spark coming alive in the blonde jock’s eyes and her good guess was that Adora had just realized the potential of their enemy’s team. And especially _Scorpia’s_ potential.

Even Catra had to admit that her friend surprised her from time to time with just how good of a basketball player she really was - and why she also definitely deserved the title of “captain” of their team.

It seemed that Adora had found an equal on the field and that’s when a sudden shift of emotion went through the whole field and all the players on it. Catra noticed Scorpia and Adora lock eyes across the field and both immediately adopted an almost identical look of indomitable determination. A determination to win this game at all costs.

The tension in the gym was tangible. The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife and Catra had never felt herself so invested in a stupid basketball game before.

She didn’t even care anymore that Entrapta had stolen her gameboy back, although she was still also directing occasional glances at the game on the court - and Catra swore her eyes were also automatically drawn to Adora, as everyone else’s were.

It was _embarrassing_ how Catra was completely lost in every of Adora’s movements, especially since she was supposed to be here to support her friend and not marvel at the enemy captain like some lovestruck idiot.

But even someone as void of almost every positive emotion as Catra was, couldn’t resist the power this sapphic goddess possessed. She wondered if Adora knew what kind of power she held over all the girls around her. That she made even someone like Catra swoon.

Catra also would have never believed that something like this could possibly happen to _her_ . She didn’t have crushes on people. Especially not on people that she didn’t even _know_.

And she concluded that Adora was just too good-looking for her own good and that someone like her shouldn’t even be allowed to be exist because obviously it would just throw everything around her off balance.

The game resumed in the same fast pace that it had started with and kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the halftime break.

It was as if someone had released Catra from a tight embrace when the teams left the court. This whole time up to the break she had been absolutely tense and filled with adrenaline just from watching the game.

“Very interesting and intense game, huh?” Entrapta said, not looking up from her gameboy. Catra rolled her eyes.

“You’re not even watching,” she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest in the same bored manner as before the game, kind of trying to cover up just how much the intensity of the game had captured her interest.

“You’re not really watching the game itself either, aren’t you?” Entrapta countered and made Catra splutter. The other girl’s face just stayed blank, tongue slightly sticking out of her mouth as her Tetris game was reaching a critical phase.

“What the hell do you mean?” Catra shot back with venom in her voice but Entrapta stayed unfazed even now. Instead, she flashed Catra a smile.

“Nothing in particular. Just a theory forming in my head.”

Catra grimaced at the cryptic answer but decided that it was probably best to just ignore her nerdy friend.

Right when she turned her attention back to the court she locked eyes with the beautiful blonde jock and Bright Moon’s basketball captain once again. This time, however, Adora quickly looked away, engaging in a seemingly heated conversation with one of her teammates right after.

Catra frowned and wondered if she was imagining things or if Adora was giving her all these quick glances _on purpose._

And then she wondered if Adora was maybe feeling _disturbed_ by Catra’s staring when she realized just how much she had been glaring at the jock this whole time during the game.

She couldn’t help the red shooting up her face. God, she was feeling so embarrassed at her own behavior right now. She really needed to get a grip on herself.

She decided that instead of getting distracted by Adora any longer, she would put an end to this awkward staring contest and concentrate on Scorpia for the rest of the game. After all, that’s actually why she was here to begin with.

After the break was over, the game started strong but as the minutes passed on, lacked the intensity it had before the break.   
It was still a good and interesting game, but now that Catra was painfully trying to keep her attention on Scorpia, she wasn’t really as invested in it anymore as before.

Her struggle was that she had to keep herself from looking at Adora. Which was kind of hard when her name was seemingly one of the only words in the vocabulary of the girls around her. The fangirling around them had not cease at all after the break.

Just as Catra was growing tired of having to watch one person for the whole duration of the remaining game any longer and was so extremely close to let herself give in to her temptations, something happened on the court.

Adora was currently in a triple threat-position and a little uncertain of what to do.  
Since time was also pressing down on her and her team as they were currently a few points behind the Horde, she decided to pass the ball to one of her teammates rushing past her left.  
But, unfortunately, she miscalculated her pass and it actually went past her teammate and into the crowd.

Since the ball had been pushed with such a tremendous force behind it, no one was really able to react when it ascended into the crowd very, very fast.

 

And hit Catra square in the face.

The crowd gasped and the game immediately went on hold.

Catra was currently seeing stars but she felt Entrapta steady her body with helpful hands so she wouldn’t smash her head on the bench behind her. To be honest, she didn’t even really realize what had happened just now since it had happened _so incredibly_ fast.

The only thing she knew was that her nose was _hurting like hell_ , that she could taste copper on her tongue and that her vision was kind of blurred.

“Catra! Catra, are you okay?!” Entrapta called out to her but Catra only groaned in pain, holding one hand to her nose. It was wet with blood and dripping.

Suddenly, she heard another voice calling out to her. A voice she didn’t know but that sounded deeply apologetic and guilty.

“Shit, shit, shit! I’m so, _so_ sorry.”

Catra opened her eyes and even though her vision was still a little blurry, she could make out silky blond hair and the same lagoon-blue eyes she had made so much eye contact with today suddenly in front of her.

Her eyes immediately went wide when she realized that Adora was kneeling before her, a very worried frown decorating her face.

“I’m _so_ sorry. Are you okay? Does it hurt much? God, does someone around here have a tissue or something?! Her nose is bleeding!”

Still dazed, Catra didn’t really know how to behave. What had even happened? Why was she in so much pain and why was Adora kneeling in front of her?

She thought back to the last things she could remember and with the pain shooting through her face, she connected the dots.

“Did you just fucking throw a basketball in my face?” She asked and Adora visibly winced while she was handing Catra a package of tissues.

But then Catra started laughing. Everyone was staring at her as if she had just gone mental - and yeah, maybe the basketball to her face had made a few screws come loose in her head - but what the hell was this kind of situation even?

“I can’t fucking believe it!” Catra said again, laughing even louder.

Adora just looked back and forth between her and Entrapta, who looked terrified at the weird outburst from her friend, to say the least.

“Do you think she has a concussion?” Adora asked and Entrapta shrugged.

“Very likely.”

In that moment, one of their school’s paramedics arrived and asked Catra all kinds of things and eventually asked her to come with him. Entrapta asked if she could come too, even though she felt a little bit bad for leaving the game and Scorpia behind.

Adora, still overwhelmed by guilt, reluctantly made her way back to the court as the game had to be resumed nevertheless.

Scorpia watched her friends leave with worry from where she was standing on the court, basking in sweat and adrenaline. Of course things like that could always happen, especially in an unprofessional High School league, so she wasn’t really mad at Adora. She most likely didn’t even intend to hit Catra in the face with the basketball.

Adora was greeted with words of encouragement when she was back on the court and her teammates saying that things like these could just happen and she shouldn’t think too much about it. They tried to bring her spirit back, and even though they could recover some of it, the jock was lacking her previous eagerness to win the game, too worried that she had broken the girl’s nose or had even given her a concussion.

Near the end of the game, Catra and Entrapta were back with Catra having a pack of ice firmly pressed to her nose. Thankfully, she had neither suffered a concussion nor was her nose broken, but the paramedic predicted that she would most definitely get a black eye pretty soon.

Looking at the score, Catra and Entrapta were surprised to be seeing that Bright Moon had actually caught up to their team and now both schools were pretty much close to a tie. However, both teams were very eager to end this game without having to go into extra-time, that much was obvious.

When the two friends were settled back into their previous positions - the people around them giving them curious glances, and god, did Catra hate this kind of attention - the last minutes of the game captivated them both and even made Catra almost forget about her impending black eye and painfully pounding nose.

Scorpia as well as Adora had gained their determination back after the initial worry had worn off. After all, this game was of utmost importance to both schools and neither one had the intention of losing it tonight.

The countdown was ticking down and both teams made very fast and successful moves in the last minutes until they were really down to a tie.

The last seconds were ticking by and the next shot would decide it all.

Someone from Bight Moon’s team attempted a last three-pointer, but failed, resulting in a rebound for the Horde but even Scorpia’s last attempt to score the final goal was blocked off by Adora, who was obviously the most determined to win the game in that moment with the last opportunity to end it in victory in her hands now.

As the last few seconds ticked by, she acted almost on instinct, and seeing that her team wouldn’t have enough time to get to the other side of the field before the end of the game, she decided to haul the basketball across the court with a powerful baseball pass.

To everyone’s absolute disbelief, the ball made it inside the basket just a split second after the buzzer went off, making it the perfect buzzer-beater that seemed to come straight out of a storybook.

The crowd went absolutely wild, and even Catra couldn’t help the smirk from passing over her lips. Even though it felt a little bit like betrayal since she was being happy that their enemy team had won.

But Adora looked so happy, a face-splitting smile appearing on her lips as she was being hugged and getting pounced on by her cheering teammates, all of them ruffling her hair, planting kisses to her face, giving her neck-breaking hugs that she couldn't resist smiling.

She was quickly reminded just how bad she should be feeling for harboring happy feelings about Bright Moon’s victory when she saw Scorpia standing in the middle of the field, looking absolutely defeated.

She was panting and sweating and staring at the scoreboard in disbelief. Then her gaze shifted over to Adora and her joyful team and she shook her head. Catra was not surprised to see a small smile play on Scorpia’s lips. The other girl couldn’t help that she was probably the most soft-hearted human being on this cruel and harsh planet that didn’t deserve her. Even though her team had lost, she would never deny her opponents their victory.

The crowd was slowly dissipating, parents and students filing out of the gym one after the other. Both teams were also retreating to the locker rooms but Catra and Entrapta remained seated for a few more minutes.

“It’s a shame that we lost. Scorpia was really giving it her all, but no-one could have predicted this unlucky outcome. Props to team Bright Moon, though. Adora was amazing as always,” Entrapta started blabbering about but this time Catra didn’t stop her. Because she was feeling the same way as her nerd-friend about the game and the outcome of it.

“So, what do you think about Bright Moon’s basketball captain?” Entrapta suddenly asked her and Catra felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She turned her face away so that Entrapta wouldn’t see.

“She’s good,” she replied.

“She’s very powerful. Almost too powerful,” Entrapta continued and Catra wasn’t really sure what her friend was actually meaning by calling her “powerful”. Leave it to Entrapta to stay as unclear as possible unless asked to elaborate. That weird computer nerd just seemed to live in her own little world. Which Catra didn’t mind that much actually.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Catra suggested and picked up her bag from the ground while Entrapta followed her out the gym, face again glued to her gameboy.

They waited for Scorpia outside after they had brought back the ice pack that Catra had been using, and Catra watched on as all the remaining basketball players got into cars where their family or friends were waiting for them, ready to go home and either celebrate the successful game or cheering their defeated children up at home or at a nice pizza place somewhere around town after their loss.

They should get pizza as well, Catra mused.

“Hey there, Kitty, Entrapta.” Scorpia approached them, her bag lazily slung around her shoulder and her whole being carrying a scent with her that smelled like a fresh shower.

“Hey there, loser,” Catra said with a mocking grin. She had told Scorpia hundreds of times before that she didn’t like that nickname, so she was just giving her payback.

Scorpia pouted in return. “Don’t be a meanie, Catra. You don’t need to twist the knife.”

Catra gave Scorpia’s side a squeeze when she came to a halt next to her friends.

“You were really amazing out there, okay? Didn’t think I would always need to point out the obvious to you,” Catra replied with an accompanied eye roll.

“She is right, though, you were really good!” Entrapta chimed in.

“Yeah, thank you,” Scorpia said scratching her neck, “but Bright Moon was just better. Adora was amazing. I can’t believe I got the chance to stand on the same court as her,” Scorpia said somewhat dreamily and Catra felt a chill run down her spine at the mentioning of that name.

“I’ve never had such a tough opponent. Losing to them doesn’t even really feel like losing at all. The whole team and especially Adora were just so good and out of our league.”

“Are you done with the cheesy compliments so we can go and get us something to eat already? I’m kinda starving,” Catra said with a groan but the small smile on her face betrayed her.

“Yeah, sure.” And then Scorpia looked as if she had suddenly remembered something. She pointed at Catra’s face. “With all the adrenaline wearing off I almost forgot: Are you okay!? Do you have a concussion or anything?!”

Catra waved her off. “Eh, nothing serious, really. Just a black eye. Come on, let’s get going.”

“Wait!”

All three froze in their step when they heard someone calling out to them and quickly approaching them.

Catra swallowed hard when she saw that it was Adora running towards them, her hair now untied and floating behind her like a golden cape.

Her hair was really, _really_ long and so fucking wonderful that Catra needed a second to recover from the sight.  
She felt slightly better when she noticed her two friends marvel at the girl in front of them along with her.

Adora stopped right before Catra, panting. She also appeared freshly showered, a minty kind of shampoo reaching Catra’s nostrils through their close proximity.  
Some of Adora’s hair was falling into her face but she quickly brushed it away with her hand.

“Yeah?” Catra broke the silence and felt surprised when Adora winced once again and looked away from her a little sheepishly. And Catra decided she would die if Adora did that thing she was currently doing to her lips again when she was nervously biting down on them and slightly sucking her bottom lip in.

“I hoped I would run into you after the game because I wanted to apologize to you. Something like that has never happened to me before and I’m so sorry that I hurt you,” Adora stammered and Catra as well as her friends seemed overwhelmed when that seemingly over-confident jock lost all her self-control and began rambling on like a little girl, appearing just so small despite her stunning height in reality.

“Hey, it’s fine, okay?” Catra tried to reassure her, even though her nose was still hotly pounding and shooting occasional pains through her face. “I didn’t die, you know.”

Adora didn’t say anything, instead, she looked just as troubled as before and somehow Catra doubted that this look was still because of the incident from earlier.

“There’s something else I have to tell you,” Adora said and nervously glanced around.

Until her eyes locked with Catra’s one more time. And that’s when the nervousness in her eyes was replaced with something else that Catra couldn’t quite put her finger on. Her blue eyes just seemed to shimmer with a sudden warmth that made Catra feel all fuzzy inside.

“Your eyes,” Adora began, her voice a little hoarse, “I have never seen someone with two eye-colors before. And I’m sorry if I’m being so blunt right now, but they are _beautiful_.”

Her friends gasped and she could even faintly hear Scorpia suppressing a squeal.

“You probably get that a lot and you are probably super annoyed when people point out your two eye-colors, but I just couldn’t stop looking back at you when I was on the field. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything.”

Catra had been born with a condition called heterochromia that would lead to a difference in coloration of her irises. One of her eyes was an amber-brown, the other an ocean-blue. That’s how Scorpia would always describe her eyes, because Adora was right - a lot of people addressed her because of her condition.

But Catra didn’t mind it. She liked her eyes and she was somehow happy that Adora seemed to like them too.

“I… uh… thank you, I guess,” Catra replied lamely and cursed herself for feeling so helpless right now. She wanted to tell Adora that she had beautiful eyes too and that she would probably dream of them, but she could never say such a cheesy thing in front of her two best friends. That would kill her reputation instantly.   
“And you didn’t make me uncomfortable, don’t worry.” Adora heaved a sigh of relief at that and that was the first time Catra saw her smile for real. Not that confident, cocky smirk. A real smile, full of joy and light-heartedness, and if the sun were out right now, it would make it appear absolutely dull in comparison.

“That’s good, yeah, that’s good,” Adora mumbled to herself, laughing a little nervously. “So, uhm, what’s your name by the way?”

“Catra,” she introduced herself and pointed at her friends behind her. “And that are Scorpia and Entrapta.”

“Oh, yeah, right! Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Adora, nice to meet you all. Especially you, Scorpia, I never quite had an opponent like you before,” Adora confessed and now Scorpia couldn’t hold back the squeal any longer.

“I can’t believe Adora - _the Adora_ \- said that to me!” She excitedly exclaimed and shook Entrapta by her shoulders.

“So, uhm, Catra…,” Adora began again, this time scratching her cheek, “One last thing.”

Catra tilted her head in confusion. “Yeah, what is it?” And somehow her heart was pounding so loudly that she could hear it in her ears. She couldn’t believe that someone like Adora wanted to talk to her without any kind of obligation attached to their conversation, now that the apology was out of the way.

“Would you… Would you…,” Catra wondered if she was seeing things or if Adora’s face was actually reddening significantly. “Would you... want to go on a date with me?” Adora spluttered and Catra felt her eyes almost bulge out of her skull.

She heard a choked _“Oh my God”_ from Scorpia and even Entrapta clapped her hands together.

“I… I…,” Catra stuttered, confused, surprised and with her heart pounding in her ears. “Yes?”

“Yes?” Adora repeated, a hopeful smile appearing on her face and her blue eyes lighting up so much that they almost appeared to sparkle.

“Yes,” Catra approved once more and felt a smile creep up on her face, too. “Yes, I would like to go on a date with you.”

“Great!” Adora shouted, her voice an octave higher than before. “Great, amazing, cool! Here’s my number, so you can call or text me, I don’t care, whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

Adora handed Catra a little crumpled piece of paper that was warm and had her number on it in blue ink. Now Catra felt herself smile for real. Did she actually prepare that thing before coming to find her?

“Okay, great, it’s a date! Uhm, call me or something so I know when and where I can pick you up. Uh, yeah, it was nice meeting you all, Scorpia, Entrapta! Err, yeah, see you soon!” And then Adora finger gunned them and turned around to disappear back into the direction of the school.

Catra slowly turned around towards her friends, who were both hugging each other close (or it was more like Scorpia was clinging to Entrapta), looking at Catra with tears of homosexual-joy in their eyes.

“You’re going out with _Adora_ ,” Scorpia whispered because her excitement wouldn’t allow her to do anything else.

“It is kind of the outcome that I have predicted for tonight and I’m happy to see that my headcanon has become canon!” Entrapta blabbered her usual nonsense and Catra looked down at the blue numbers on the white paper.

“Huh, yeah,” Catra said, then looked back to where Adora had run off to. “I’m actually going on a date with Adora.”

She smiled.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Adora go out on their date at the Arcade and find out that they share more than just the same interests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is. HUGE. So beware.  
> I'm not from the US, I've only ever been to the states once so all my knowledge about the states is derived from either movies, shows or books (or other fanfics)  
> Just saying. Thought I needed to clarify this once and for all.  
> Oh yeah, you will also get another chapter for this, so keep your eyes open!  
> AND ALSO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR OVER 400 KUDOS ON THIS FIC, YOU ARE FUCKING INSANE

 

 

“Have you guys heard the news? Adora is going on a date with someone,” Perfuma revealed the new found gossip to her group of friends and everything around the table went absolutely silent. Well, except for Glimmer, who was currently choking on her milkshake and needing Bow to hit her on the back to get out the few drops that had gotten into her air-pipe involuntarily.

“W-What?!” Glimmer pressed out between coughs and Bow told her to calm down, now stroking soothing circles on her back instead.

Mermista rolled her eyes as she usually would whenever the topic of Adora’s love life was brought up. “Really? Do we have to go over this _again?_ Just let Adora do whatever she wants.”

“Who is it?!” Glimmer insisted even though her first question had been pretty much ignored by all the others, her voice now raising to get her friends' attention.

“Oh, is somebody _jealous?_ ” Bow teased her, an impish smile spreading across his lips.

“I’m not jealous! I just think that I deserve to know who my best friend is going out with! Why didn’t she tell me in the first place!?” the girl cried out and crossed her arms over her chest, sulkily huffing when she recoiled back into her seat, making their table shake.

Suddenly, they were hyper-aware that the whole cafeteria seemed to be eavesdropping in on them, so even Glimmer decided to tone it down a little after she had finished her small outburst that had probably caused all the curious eyes on them in the first place.

“It was yesterday after the game. She hit a girl in the crowd in the face when she was passing a ball. I think it’s the same girl she asked out on a date. Oh, it’s a shame you two couldn’t be there, it was a really enthralling match and _sooo_ close! I have never seen someone match Adora’s intensity like this before, but the Horde’s captain was really giving her a hard time,” Perfuma declared, almost losing herself in the memories of last night’s basketball match when she began to wistfully stare off into space, both hands interlocked under her chin.

“Yeah, it was a good game, but how do you even know that Adora asked that girl out afterwards?” Mermista asked doubtfully, picking at her cafeteria meal that was more than a waste of resources than actual food in her opinion. Today’s meal tasted an awful lot like cardboard, which was actually one of the better flavors.

“Well, I was waiting for her after the game because I wanted to congratulate her, but she said she had something else to do real quick and then ran off. And then she came back with a huge grin on her face, picked me up and swirled me around and told me that she had a date!”

“So, you’re just _assuming_ that it’s with the girl she hit with the basketball? Mermista clarified and Perfuma shrugged.

“Come on, Mermista, you saw how Adora stole glances at that girl pretty much throughout the whole game. She even tried to be super impressive with her dunks yesterday! You know she only does that when she has someone that has caught her interest.”

“This still doesn’t explain why she hasn’t told _me,_ ” Glimmer commented bitterly. “I’m her best friend! Don’t I deserve to know?”

“Oh, Glimmer, I’m sure she was just too tired and excited after yesterday’s match to tell you about it straightaway. You know how she gets sometimes when something’s on her mind. I didn’t receive any message or something either and I'm usually the second person to know when something is going on with her,” Bow tried to cheer her up and it did work a little bit. At least Glimmer looked less angry than before, her jaw losing some if its former inhabited tension. “She’ll probably tell us everything about it when she’s here in a minute.”

“That girl is so unbelievably lucky. To be going out on a date with Adora! God, I wish I were her,” Perfuma breathed out thoughtfully.

“Don’t we all,” they heard Mermista mumble and the girl’s eyes immediately went as wide as they possibly could, her eyeballs almost popping out of her head. “Oh fuck, I did not mean to say that out loud. _Please_ don’t make a big deal out of it,” she groaned when she looked into all the shell-shocked faces of her friends at the table.

“This just confirms that Adora holds way too much power over girls. Does she even realize that?” Bow asked curiously and everyone shrugged.

“You know she can be kind of clueless, right?” Mermista argued and a collective nod went through the group.

“It’s one of her many charms,” Perfuma agreed dreamily.

“Although I think that sometimes she’s not as clueless as she lets us think. I mean, she sure knows how to put her muscles into display,” Glimmer chimed in. “And I think she also knows that girls like looking at them. I’ve caught her training how to flex her muscles at various angles in the mirror more than once before.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

Suddenly everyone was straightening their backs, acting as if they had just been caught discussing a murder.

Adora was standing next to their table, a well-rested and content expression adorning her sun-kissed face and a tray with food in her hands.

“Hey, Adora!” Glimmer squeaked a bit too loudly so that the content expression on Adora’s face faded and was instead replaced by one of confusion. “We were totally not talking about you just now!”

Everyone glared at Glimmer for that miserable attempt at covering up, but Adora sat down, somehow eating that answer straight up anyhow.

“Okay,” she said innocently, not questioning Glimmer’s declaration in the slightest, and started munching on her food. Mermista watched on in disgust as Adora appeared to have absolutely no kind of taste whatsoever when she was downing the food without her gagging reflex acting up as it did with Mermista.

“So then, what’s going on?”

“Oh, _I don’t know_ , why don’t you tell us?” Glimmer almost spat back and received a stomp on her foot from Bow.

She winced and bit down on her cheek to stop herself from crying out in pain.

“Hmm, I don’t know? Oh, we won yesterday! It was a really fun game and super close. Shame you couldn’t be there,” Adora said, mouth stuffed. Perfuma watched her as if she were watching a puppy-compilation on YouTube, eyes absorbing every of Adora’s movement in awe.

“And of course I had to have an archery contest on the exact day Adora probably had her biggest game yet,” Bow sighed, wishing he had been at the game along with Mermista and Perfuma, who had had the luck to have been there yesterday to support Adora.

“Yeah, and of course I had to go with you because of our genius rule to take turns in which contest from your friends you’re going to,” Glimmer sighed as well. “Sometimes having two best friends can be pretty hard.”

“Oh, shut up,” Mermista growled and rolled her eyes again.

“Rude,” Bow complained and Glimmer quickly added, “I didn’t mean it like that, Bow! It was just obvious that you were going to win anyway, because you’re basically _the only one_ with archery skills around here!”

Even Bow had to admit that. “Yeah, true, it _was_ kind of obvious that I was gonna win. I would have rather watched Adora’s game as well, but the coach kinda relied on me.”

“Oh, and I accidentally hit someone in the face with a basketball. That wasn’t actually that funny,” Adora then added but Glimmer grew more and more annoyed when Adora was still not spilling the beans about the alleged date Perfuma had mentioned.

“And that’s all?” Glimmer tried to pry it out of her now, this time receiving a kick to her shin from Bow.

Adora stopped chewing for a second, eyes drifting off in thought. Some of her food was smeared around her mouth because of how fast she had been eating, and Perfuma handed her a napkin from her tray, which Adora accepted with a warm smile before she cleaned her face with it.

“Oh! I’m having a date! With the girl that I hit,” she sheepishly added and blushed.

“You took that whole “hitting on someone”-thing a bit too literally,” Mermista mumbled unironically and unwillingly made everyone at the table stifle a laugh. Adora pouted.

“Do you even know her?” Glimmer wanted to know and Adora shook her head no.

“Nope.”

“So, how do you know that you’ll be getting along with her?” Glimmer pressed further, getting all protective like a good friend should when it came to the dating-life of her best friend.

“I don’t,” Adora admitted, “but that doesn’t bother me. To be honest, I’m actually pretty excited to get to know her.”

 _“I’m so jealous,”_ Perfuma whispered and everyone but Adora seemed to have heard her.

“When’s the date?” Bow asked cheerfully.

“I’m gonna pick her up after school today. We’re going to the arcade,” Adora said while finishing the last bits of her food and Mermista felt her gagging reflex getting triggered again.

“That’s a nice date idea,” Perfuma agreed.

“Meh, it’s okay,” Mermista said.

“I’ll let you go under one condition,” Glimmer suddenly objected, gaining everyone’s attention, “You tell me _everything_ when you’re done. Every. Little. Detail.”

“Of course!” Adora smiled and put an arm around Glimmer to give her a squeeze. “Even the _juicy_ details?” Adora’s smile now turned into a smirk.

 “ _Everything,_ ” Glimmer emphasized once again.

 “Gross,” Mermista pointed out with a disgusted frown. Best friends really could be weird.

 

~*~

 

“The arcade sounds like a fun date idea. When is she coming to pick you up?” Scorpia interrogated while Catra was currently rummaging through her closet to find something appropriate to wear for her date.

“In about ten minutes. Have you seen my ripped jeans anywhere?” Catra growled as she was not finding the pieces to the outfit she had mentally prepared for herself today.

“The red ones, the blue ones, the gray ones or the black ones?” Scorpia asked while already walking off into another room.

“The red ones- No, wait, the black ones!”

“Got ‘em!” Scorpia announced from somewhere else in the house. “They were drying off in my room, here you go.” She handed the jeans to Catra, who hastily grabbed them and put them on as well as some accessories before she tried to brush her hair one last time. It didn’t work out that well, but she knew her hair would always be a hassle to take care of so she let it be.

“How do I look?” the smaller girl asked at last, presenting her outfit to her friends.

“Terrifying,” Entrapta said and it caused both Scorpia and Catra to give her a confused look. “What? She always tells us that she wants to hear how intimidating we find her. It says so right here in my notes: _Do not, under any circumstance, tell Catra that she looks cute. She prefers to be called scary or intimidating!_ ” Entrapta seriously didn’t get the confused looks at all.

“You look good, Catra. Adora will like that outfit, I’m sure of it. It’s not too casual but also causal enough for the arcade.”

Catra was wearing high-waisted ripped jeans with two belts that were more of a fashion device than actually used to hold up the pants, and a simple black tank-top underneath a wine-red, light-padded bomber jacket. And of course her red headband was not to be missed.

“Okay, good,” Catra simply said, standing in the middle of the room, not quite sure what to do until Adora arrived. “How’s my eye look?”

Scorpia’s smile she had worn before wavered at that question and she furrowed her brows. “Uhm…”

“Scary!” Entrapta exclaimed from in front of her computer once again before Scorpia even had a chance to answer. “Looks like you got into a bar fight!”

Catra sighed, clenching and unclenching her fists. “I just hope I don’t look too stupid. I tried covering it up a little.”

“Are you nervous?” Scorpia asked with genuine interest but Catra growled at her.

“Of course I’m not nervous! It’s just a stupid date.”

“Yeah, but it’s with _Adora ,_ ” Scorpia remarked.

“So?” Catra replied, raising an eyebrow in question.

“So, you should be excited! Thousands of girls would die to be in your position right now! Right, Entrapta?” Scorpia turned to Entrapta, who was currently very invested in something happening on her computer.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but yes!” Entrapta replied anyway.

Right then, the doorbell rang and Scorpia squeaked before hurrying to get the door.

Catra followed behind her, adjusting her headband and giving herself a once-over in the hallway mirror. She immediately regretted it when she spotted the green and purple-colored ring around her right eye.

“Hello, Adora!” Scorpia announced loudly when she opened the door with vigor.

The postman looked quite puzzled to be received so vocally and under a false name none the less. “Uh, I have a package for Miss-”  
“IT’S HERE!” Entrapta screamed from inside the house and came sprinting towards the door, eagerly snatching the package out of the postman’s hands.

“False alarm, huh?” Scorpia joked, scratching her head awkwardly when the postman turned around to leave with hurried strides, but was surprised when she suddenly heard someone else clear their throat next to her.

“Uhm, hey there.”

Adora had just appeared from behind the retreating postman, who twisted his head around one last time with curiosity and watched the scene in bemusement before he got into his car and drove off.

The jock looked a little tense, her hands deeply buried inside the back pockets of her pants and her shoulders pulled up to her face, putting the final touches to her embodied nervousness.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra greeted her smoothly, so smoothly even that one could think she had practiced her greeting in front of a mirror, figuring out which intonation sounded the sexiest and most alluring, and Adora’s nervous demeanor immediately melted away.

Scorpia had to refrain herself from pulling Adora into a tight hug like some overjoyed mother that was just too happy for her daughter to be going out on a date with such a handsome person would have done.

“You ready to go?” Adora asked Catra with a big smile, her shoulders visibly relaxing and a spark of life flickering across her face when Catra smirked at her, and the latter immediately felt herself fall into the deep sea of Adora’s bright blue eyes that she had absolutely  _not_ dreamt about this night.

“Sure am,” Catra replied casually and Adora pointed behind her.  
“My car is parked down there, so let’s go. It was nice seeing you Scorpia, Entrapta,” Adora shouted the last part into the house where maniac laughter could be heard from somewhere in the living room, shortly accompanied by a loud shriek.  “IT’S WORKING!!” 

“Have fun you two!” Scorpia said, waving at them when they both walked to Adora’s car. And then she wiped a single tear off her cheek. “I can’t believe how fast they’re growing up.”

  


~*~

 

Throughout the ride to the arcade, both girls had been exchanging silent glances between them, sneakily checking each other out.

Adora was wearing a red letter jacket of her school, grey chino pants that she had most definitely gotten from the men’s section (not that Catra minded) and white sneakers. And somehow that outfit looked so perfectly casual and athletic and just seemed to fit the jock in each and every way that it made Catra’s heart flutter.

Usually, she wouldn’t even spare these jocks a second glance when she saw them at school or crossed paths with them on the street, but Adora seemed to be the biggest exception from that yet. For the first time ever, Catra found the jock charm pretty alluring.

Adora on the other hand couldn’t stop looking at the parts of Catra’s ripped jeans where Catra’s brown skin was being exposed. She had a really hard time pulling her eyes back onto the road and for them to stay there.

“So, what do you wanna do first?” Adora asked excitedly while holding the door to the arcade open for Catra to pass through, pumped to finally get the evening and their date started. They had only exchanged simple small talk during the drive to the arcade and now it was time to shake things up a little.

“Hmm, let me see,” Catra mused, letting her eyes roam over all the options the arcade offered to them. Then, her eyes landed on a machine in the far back of the room, and even though she already felt bad for proposing it, she did so anyway.

Only that at the same time, Adora was trying to propose something as well, and both just ended up saying “How about DDR?” in unison.

They both just stared at each other in silent bafflement. Was that what fate felt like?

“Oh, you’re a fan of it, too?” Adora asked, her face gleaming with joy.  
“Not just a fan,” Catra corrected her, “I’m a _slave_ to that game.”

“So, it’s settled. But I have to warn you, I’m pretty good at this game.” And back was that cocky, confident grin Adora had been wearing at the game last night as well.

It put something in Catra’s guts on fire. And the heat ascended her body fast until it all got into her head. But she was not going to let Adora play the cockiness card to its full potential this time.

“I’m returning this warning to you then. I’m not so bad myself.” This time, Catra smirked confidently, fully aware of her potential at the game and certain that Adora would be surprised when the reality hit her that Catra was going to destroy her mercilessly.

Before they went to the DDR machine, though, they got themselves a bucket with a big load of tokens for the arcade games at the counter, both paying an equal amount of money without having to talk about it.

When they finally stood in front of the machine, Catra couldn’t resist giving her another fair warning in advance, “Actually, you should prepare yourself. I’m probably going to destroy you and please don’t come crying to me when I did. You chose that game, too.”

“You’re pretty sure of yourself, huh?” Adora shot back, playfully. “You don’t need to worry about me. Since I’m the one owning the high score at this arcade, I think I can handle you just fine.” The surprised face that Adora had hoped to get from Catra was immediately there.

“Wait what?” Catra asked almost in disbelief. “ _You_ are She-Ra?!”

“The one and only,” Adora replied, raising her chin in the air, knowing full well that her name was well-known among the regulars at the arcade. Almost as if she were some kind of legend, and it showed.

“So you’re the one who always keeps breaking my high scores! God, you’re really persistent, you know that?”

Now it was the jock’s turn to look surprised. “Wait, you’re  _Cat?!_ ”

“Duh, obviously I am!” Catra replied, throwing her arms in the air.

“I spend hours every week trying to break your high scores! You’re, like, my biggest secret rival in this game!”

“Yeah, and it’s always annoying when I come back to the arcade and see _She-Ra_ has again claimed _my_ first place! I can’t even stay at the top for just one week without you beating me and pushing me down.”

Adora chuckled at that. “Sorry, but you’re always challenging me with coming up with a new high score every week.”

“Can’t believe it’s you, though. I always wondered who that She-Ra person is. I almost thought you were, like, an urban legend or something.” Then, Catra’s expression grew determined and she put her hand out towards Adora.

“Well, will you take up this challenge? Me and you, one on one? Proving once and for all who the better one of us is?”

Adora mirrored her expression and took her hand in hers, loving the way Catra’s smaller and softer hand felt in it and almost not wanting to let go.  
“I’ll gladly accept the challenge.”

“Great. Prepare to get _owned_ , She-Ra.”

“Don’t get too cocky, _Cat._ ”

They both took off their jackets and put them over the railings. Catra took a second to sneak a good glance at Adora’s toned muscles and that wonderful triceps that stood out so much when she was gripping at the railing and that was clearly visible now that her jacket was off and the jock was clad in nothing more than a white muscle shirt. She swallowed harshly.

In return, Adora took in that Catra was now only wearing a black tank-top and she loved how it hugged every curve of her body just right.

“Get ready,” Catra announced, gripping the railing behind her as well and then both started the game.

Their feet were almost moving in perfect synchronicity at the beginning, only their slides varying slightly. They were playing a song that both of them knew by heart and could probably clear in their sleep.

Some of the people in the arcade nudged their friends when they spotted the fierce dance off on the machines. People were immediately drawn to their performance, never having seen two pros battling it off in real time before.

Catra was biting down on her lip in concentration while Adora was flaring her nostrils as the game progressed.

A whole crowd had gathered around them at one point as well.

There was no time to compare their scores during the game, the arrows on the screen flashing by so extremely fast they barely had time to react to them. At this point, it was pure muscle memory, hours of training and memorizing that moved their feet.

The game was reaching its critical phase, both Adora and Catra pushing their limits as their feet flew over the sensors on the ground, and at the end, the two were panting heavily when the first round concluded.

Judging by the score, Catra was the winner of the first round.

“Alright, whew, that was a good warm-up,” Adora joked, a lame attempt at playing down her defeat, and sucked in huge loads of air to calm down before she got up from the railing. Suddenly noticing the crowd around them, she nervously winked at some group of teenage girls that seemed to recognize her from somewhere. Almost immediately, the girls began to squeal and whisper excitedly among each other.

“Flirting with other girls while we’re on a date? Now that’s rude,” Catra now had Adora’s full attention back on herself and the blonde jock instantly began blushing furiously from ear to ear.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-, it was a reflex, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything!” she stammered, but Catra just crossed her arms and gave Adora a hard stare.

Of course, she was just being playful. But it was just too much fun seeing Adora become a flustered mess under her gaze.

“It won’t happen again, I promise. You’re the only one that’s important to me today, and I need to show you that, I know,” Adora finally said, her face stern. She really meant it. “I'm sorry.”

“Jeez, stop apologizing so much, it's like the only thing you know how to say,” Catra chuckled and dared to touch one of Adora’s muscular arms in some kind of soothing manner. “I was just teasing,” she said, voice smooth and dripping from her lips like honey.

Adora had wanted to release a sigh of relief, but the warm hand on her arm stopped her. She loved every second Catra’s hand lingered on her skin, hot and soft, her fingernails slightly digging into her arm, a feeling so prominent that it felt as if Catra’s hand was burning through her skin. Adora couldn’t help but to automatically flex her arm just a little.  
Catra noticed, her expression first turning blank in surprise before a very wide grin appeared on her face. Adora felt the nails dig deeper into her arm.

“Wanna give our spectators another quick show? I think they’re waiting,” Catra almost whispered now, leaning more closely towards Adora but having to go on her tiptoes to reach the jock’s ears. “I also think you deserve a second chance. I mean, you’re _She-Ra,_ after all.”

The jock looked Catra deep into her mismatched eyes. Eyes she found so fascinating that the sheer thought of them had kept her up at night.  
Slowly, Catra let go of Adora’s arm, who was still barely able to form a comprehensible thought yet alone word.

Catra was already picking out another song, a wicked grin forming on her thin lips. “Let’s see how you handle this song.”

Adora snatched her eyes towards the screen and crinkled her eyebrows at what she saw. It was one of the hardest songs and seeing the smug grin on Catra’s beautifully freckled face when she looked over at her date to confirm that they were really going to play it, she felt the challenging look on the other’s girl face ignite a fire inside her.  
“Let’s do this,” Adora said hotly, cracking her knuckles.

The countdown to the start appeared on the screen, both of them readying their stances, gripping onto the railing even harder than before.

There was loud and excited murmuring from the crowd as well as several oohs and aahs at very difficult sections of the song.

Both girls were burning with determination to win the game, both gritting their teeth, their hearts pounding wildly in their chests, their legs burning from the strain and their minds blank except for the directions of the arrows flashing by before their eyes.

When the second round was finished, they were met with loud claps and whistles but both girls first had to gain back their breaths before they could even acknowledge the score.

It was a really, really close outcome, but again Catra was the winner.

“Hah! Beat you, She-Ra!” She victoriously put her hands on her hips and laughed. Adora huffed but grinned at her.  
“Good game, Cat. You just showed me exactly why I need all those hours to break your high scores every time. You’re just this _slightest_ bit better than me.”

“Oh,  please don’t be so humble, Adora,” Catra joked and wiped some of the sweat out of her face. “You wanna go for another round?”

“Oh, no thanks. I mean, it’s a lot of fun but the amount of sweat it’s drawing out of me is not really appropriate for a date,” Adora said with a light chuckle, wiping at her forehead and then taking her jacket from the railing before stepping down from the machine and walking around to Catra’s side, holding one hand out to her. The crowd was already beginning to disperse, clearly impressed by what they had just witnessed, judging by the heated mumbling going through the small groups of people.

“I would rather check out some other things,” Adora admitted and Catra took the offered hand and stepped down the tiny step from the machine with Adora’s help which really wouldn’t have been necessary at all, but she appreciated the offer very much nevertheless.

And what she appreciated even more was that Adora’s hand was not immediately letting go of hers when she stood on the ground again. She even felt a light squeeze on it as she was fetching her jacket from the railing as well before the jock let go of it. Catra wished she had let her hand stay on hers for just a little bit longer.

“How about skee ball?” Adora proposed but Catra spotted something else that she found way more interesting.

“I propose a few rounds of air-hockey,” Catra pointed at one unoccupied table in the middle of the room, it’s flashing lights looking very endearing and inviting to her.

“Oh yeah, I’m very much okay with that,” Adora said, her blue eyes glistening against the bright and flashing lights of the machine as they walked over to it, retrieving the two strikers and the puck for the game.

When they started, some kind of 2000s pop song came on. Adora grinned.  
“This always reminds me of my childhood,” she said, giving the puck a hard push towards Catra’s goal.  
“Same for me,” Catra said, defending her goal with striking the puck to her right. It bounced off the rail right away, swishing left and right so fast that Adora had trouble locating it before it was almost too late.

She somehow hit the puck before it could reach her goal anyway, although only grazing it with her striker so it lost some of its momentum, giving Catra the perfect opportunity for a straight, powerful hit right into Adora’s goal that she tried to block in the last second but failed to do very miserably.

“Damn, I really should have picked another location for our first date. I didn’t think I would get destroyed this much,” Adora confessed to Catra with a high arch of her eyebrows, retrieving the puck from its slot on her side.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come crying to me?” Catra reminded her, the smugness on her face and in her voice intensifying. “Also, _first_ date? You think there will be more after today?” She really tried to hold the hopeful look back as best as she could.

“Just means I have to step up my game,” Adora replied. “And well, yeah, I do hope to spend more time with you, Catra,” she continued, a faint blush adorning her face. Catra felt butterflies come to life in her stomach.

But suddenly, it was as if the fun and light-heartedness had left Adora’s face all at once. Catra concluded she was entering her competition mode. Her transformation looked awfully similar to the one when she had recognized Scorpia as an equal on the court during yesterday's basketball match. “But first, I gotta kick your butt.”

“Well, bring it on,” Catra dared her and the puck was brought back into the game right then.

And, hell, did the tables turn.  
One high-pitched clink after the other could be heard as Adora chucked the puck relentlessly into Catra’s side of the table and her goal likewise.  
The score was slowly changing in favor to Adora and at the end, the jock had outplayed Catra by almost ten points.

“Wow, that was unexpected,” Catra said, honestly impressed at the score since no one had even been able to beat her in this game before. Adora scratched her cheek, looking away a little ashamed of herself.

“Sorry if I ruined the fun with my competitiveness. I know it can get a little bit intense sometimes,” Adora mumbled, deflating. And Catra absolutely could not let that happen.

“I don’t mind your competitiveness, Adora,” Catra said, her voice gentle. She walked around the table to join her date on the other side, and just then noticed that Adora had her letter jacket wrapped around her hips, leaving her big and strong arms exposed still, and Catra reflexively looped her own arm through one of Adora’s. “I like that you’re not holding back. That means you’re just seeing me as an equal. Someone who can challenge you. Someone _who can beat your ass_ on equal terms.”

Adora momentarily lost all the tension in her body, regarding Catra in ever-growing awe. How could she have possibly gotten so lucky to be going out on a date with someone like Catra?  
Catra was a confident, witty _and_ challenging girl, and on top of it all, also incredibly handsome.

Adora really wanted to pat herself on her shoulder for the little mishap yesterday. Otherwise she would have never had the guts to ask Catra out on a date with her if it hadn’t been for the apology that she had owed to the other girl for pretty much ruining her face.

The public humiliation and guilt in the pit of her stomach had been totally worth it.

“I’m just glad I didn’t get the puck thrown in my face this time with all the aggressive shoving you did,” Catra teased and chuckled deeply when she saw the bright red tint on Adora’s face expand over to her ears. It was incredibly adorable, and Catra despised that word with every fiber of her being, but with Adora? It was a word that fit her perfectly. Maybe also because it sounded so awfully similar to her name. Her parents really knew what they were doing, huh?

“I would have probably seen my life flash before my eyes,” she added with a ironic chuckle.

“I’m so-” Adora began, but Catra almost hissed at her.  
“Oh, don’t you dare say that again or I'm gonna hit you!” Catra groaned and Adora laughed in return.

“Hit me? Where?” The blonde jock asked Catra with an ugly chortle at the mental image of Catra trying to hurt her.

“Your stupid, pretty face,” Catra growled defensively but Adora just snorted more loudly.

“You know, you have to decide, Catra. Is my face stupid or pretty? Besides, who says that you'll even be able to reach it?” Adora encouraged their little banter some more by adding fuel to the fire now that she had made hers and Catra’s ample height difference a conversation topic.

“Oh, _Adora_ ,” Catra drawled, running her finger tips over the smooth skin on Adora’s arm, encouraging goosebumps to form on every inch her fingers crossed, “you have no idea what I'm capable of. Yet.”

If the dumbstruck expression on Adora’s face told her anything, it was that she had successfully short-circuited the jock’s brain with that last statement. Letting it stand in the room as it was, Adora’s mind pretty much derailed and went off into directions that were by far not appropriate.

“But it’s okay, really. I’m not mad at you for throwing that ball in my face. Seriously,” Catra gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, would you mind if we played another round and then got ourselves some refreshments?”

After Adora had snatched out of the deepest and most lustful corners of her fantasies, she flashed a thankful smile at Catra.

Thankful for the reassurance and her not being mad at her. She had to admit that Catra’s eye did look quite awful, but she decided to let it go for the sake of the moment.

They settled back into their respective spots at the table and commenced another round. Still, it didn’t matter how hard Catra tried to pay Adora back for beating her, the jock clearly was the more skilled at this game.

She lost again, clicking her tongue at the score that was now showing a 12 point difference in their goals.

“So, milkshakes?” Adora asked, pointing at the adjacent ice-cream parlor where groups of high schoolers and middle schoolers were hanging around, the milkshakes in front of their faces looking quite delicious even to Catra, who usually wasn’t much of a sweet tooth.

But looking into Adora’s shining blue pools of eyes and the innocent expectation that Catra would of course agree to drinking tooth-rottingly sweet beverages with her, didn’t leave her much of a choice. She wanted to make Adora happy as much as Adora wanted to make her happy.

“Sounds good.”

“Is it okay if I pay for your milkshake?” Adora asked somewhat shyly after that, scratching at the back of her neck and Catra almost tripped over her own two feet.

_“You’re a disgrace, a useless delinquent, a freeloader, a nuisance, a burden, a-”_

Catra tried to shut the bone-chilling voice in her head off as best as she could. She was frozen in place and couldn’t do anything about the immediate guilt consuming her whole body and suffocating her.

Adora didn’t mean for this to happen, but Catra also couldn’t control her defense mechanisms acting up when they wanted to.

 _“Adora doesn’t know you, Catra,”_ she reminded herself and slowly, repeating this over and over again in her head, she found herself able to move again. And able to breathe. She blinked herself free, fully aware that she had acted like weird freak just now, and took in Adora’s wide eyes staring at her in utter shock.

“Are you okay, Catra?” Adora’s worried voice but especially her blue, almost terrified eyes snapped her out of it. “I’m sorry, I get that some people don’t like it when you just pay for them, so I asked in advance. I didn’t mean to-”

“You did it again.”

There was a moment of shocked and confused silence, in which Adora only stared at her open-mouthed. Then, she hesitantly tried to ascertain what Catra was getting at. “What do you m-”

“You apologized. Again,” Catra cut her off. “Jeez, are you a goldfish? Or just brain damaged?” she asked with a grin and jammed her elbow gently into Adora’s ribs. “It’s fine if you pay for me. I was just… surprised, is all.”

It wasn’t really that, but Catra didn’t want to dwell on it for much longer and make a big issue out of it. Adora didn’t know her. That was their first date and their first time meeting and getting to know each other, she reminded herself. She didn’t know her or her past.

The gesture was a kind and innocent one - no, not even that. It was chivalrous and sweet, and to be honest, at least she had asked. Catra appreciated it a lot.

Adora still looked slightly uncomfortable and Catra actually felt bad for that. The jock just wanted to be a gentle-lady and Catra’s poor mental health just had to come burst through a tightly sealed door in her mind and ruin it.

She had to fix this.

She sighed. “Listen Adora, you didn’t do anything wrong. Sorry for being so weird. I really appreciate you buying me a drink, okay? It’s very nice of you and I like it a lot that you want this date to go well - I really want that, too. So, this time, it’s actually me who has to apologize to you.”

Adora’s worried face transformed into something gentler, warmer. It almost looked a lot like affection and understanding, the way her smile stretched across her face so genuinely and the way her blue eyes flooded with sincerity.

“Hey, no biggie. You just looked as if something grabbed you and dragged you through the pits of hell for a moment. I was worried that I deeply insulted you or something.”  
  
“Pfft, not at all,” Catra snorted. Then she felt Adora confidently reaching for her hand and gently pulling at it. Catra’s heart almost jumped out of her rib-cage. Little sparks were sent flying between the parts where their hands touched.

“Let’s sit down,” Adora said with a nod of her head and led the way to an unoccupied booth in the ice-cream parlor.

They sat down on opposite sides of the red, leather-bound cushion and picked up the menus, curiously skimming through them, an awkward silence still lingering that reminded them that they were still new to each other and didn’t actually know anything about the other at all.

“So, you and Scorpia are… good friends?” Adora suddenly asked and startled Catra with the question quite the bit.

“Uh, yes? I don’t know, maybe,” Catra replied with a shrug and Adora lowered her menu to give her another confused glare.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Well, I suppose we’re friends. I mean, we’re living together and that stuff,” Catra answered truthfully and Adora’s frown deepened.

“Wait, but that doesn’t mean that you two are… dating or something?” Adora wanted to know, and the other girl grimaced dramatically.

“Would I be going out on a date with you if we were?” Catra retorted with an amused chuckle.

Adora shrugged. “Not sure, I mean… It could have been that you two have an open relationship or something like that going,” she mumbled and made Catra sneer at that.

“Not even close! We’re just roommates, and well yeah, friends, I guess.” Catra pondered over that for a second. Sure, Scorpia, Entrapta and her got along really well, but Catra had always had some difficulty with grasping the concept of “friendship”.

 “I’m not poly, Adora. Not that I mind people who are. To each their own,” Catra said, raising her menu like one would do with a glass to make a toast.

“So, you’re not living with your parents anymore?” Adora concluded and suddenly, Catra’s smiling lips turned into a very thin line.

This is exactly the type of conversation she had dreaded. But, of course it would become inevitable at some point… so, why hide her past? Better rip this band-aid off fast, right?

“I don’t have any parents. I grew up in a group home.”

Silence.

Then,

“Me too.”

“Wait, for real?” Catra couldn’t stop the words from slipping out her mouth even if she had wanted to.

Adora giggled lightly, although a certain sadness became evident on her face as well. “It’s hardly something that you would lie or joke about, don’t you think?”

“I- … Yeah, maybe you’re right. But that’s an… insane coincidence, don’t you think?”

Adora nodded thoughtfully. “Absolutely”

Then, a sudden realization dawned on her face.

“Is... that why you hesitated earlier? When I asked you about me buying you a drink?” the blonde asked and then added for confirmation, “I know that I didn’t like it when people bought me things. It always felt as if they were… pitying me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I didn’t appreciate their mindfulness, but sometimes it just felt as if they were not doing that because they wanted to do me a favor as their friend, but because… of my situation. You get me? Like they felt required to do that for me.”

Catra opened and then closed her mouth, putting the menu back down on the table again and then answered, “Yeah. I just… was transported back to that exact situation before I reminded myself that you didn’t know me. I… have never been asked out on a date before, you see,” she sighed deeply, fiddling with her fingers, considering if she should go on opening up to Adora - who was still basically a stranger - or keep to herself.

But who better to talk to than someone who shared your experience? Who probably knew best how it felt like to be put into such a situation?

It was amazing that they had only known each other for what? Four hours max, and yet, she already felt a connection building between them, a quite unique one that she didn’t share with any of her other “friends” like she did with Adora, now that she also knew the jock used to be an orphan like herself, and it felt _weird_ but also good.

But it was so, so strange, because they weren’t friends - they just _met,_ for God' sake - but she still felt as if she could tell Adora anything.

 So, Catra chose to open up for a change.

“I was put into many families during my time at the group home, and when I say many, I absolutely fucking mean it. I never quite clicked with a family and everybody thought I was a difficult child anyway. And do you know what that does with you? When everyone has these expectations about you? You try to meet them. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. When everyone tells you that you’re a bad child, you start to believe that. Your actions don’t only become actions, they become truths that you can’t escape. Everyone thought I was bad, so I acted bad because that’s what was to be expected of me,” Catra took a breath but didn’t dare to look Adora in the eyes. Not when she felt so vulnerable right now and she didn’t want Adora to see the pain and hatred at her situation back then behind her eyes. But, she knew that Adora was listening to her. She practically felt her eyes bore holes into her face.

“I was eventually adopted into a family who used orphans as a way to get more benefits. When a social worker visited, we all played pretend and acted as this perfectly functional family. It was probably the worst part of my life and that woman and her husband… yeah well, they weren’t exactly what you could call good foster parents. To be honest, I still believe to this day that _she_ was Satan incarnate. She always… guilt-tripped me, asked me where I got certain things from when I came home with something that wasn’t something I owned - be it presents from my friends or just books that I borrowed from the library - she accused me of stealing from people, accused me of being a freeloader, accused me of being a useless child that no one would ever want or love, yadda yadda.” The sarcasm dripping from her voice was thick and suffocating, even to Adora.

“And I totally don’t get why I just told you all of that. Gosh, now I totally ruined the mood, didn’t I?” Catra tried to cover her uncomfortableness and awkwardness up with a small laugh and played with the tattered edge of her menu that almost came off when she pulled at it a little bit too harshly.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Adora suddenly said and when Catra looked down at her hand in surprise when she felt a sudden pressure on it, she saw that Adora’s bigger and warmer hand was placed on top of hers. Usually, Catra wasn’t one who was all touchey-touchey, but with Adora, it felt like everything she had ever asked for. Everything she had ever wanted.

They just instantly clicked and she felt that.

“You didn’t ruin anything. I’m actually quite impressed that you had enough courage to share something so emotionally... distressing with me. Like, I don’t even feel like I deserved to know that, so it’s very brave of you. I don’t want to say that I feel sorry for you because I never know if that’s a thing the people want you to feel about them, but… I can’t even begin to imagine what it felt like being relocated from one family to the other all the time, but never settling down and finding a place you could actually call your home. I don’t want to dwell on this for too long but I just want to tell you that I’m happy to be sitting here with you today and getting to know you because… okay this might sound stupid now but… I just think we click? I feel like I’ve already known you for years and I just feel so… _light_ around you. Light-hearted, light-footed, you name it!” Adora was now wringing her hands after she’d let go of Catra’s hand, her face heating up significantly, “You’re fun to be around, we seem to share the same interests, and have I already told you that you look really good today? I’m just glad that I asked you out and I’m totally rambling, but I also totally don’t get how no one has ever asked you out before when you’re clearly just amazing.” She finished with a nervous laugh and then buried her face in her hands and groaned.

“God, I’m so useless,” she joked, hunching over and then groaned into her hands one more time.

“I think we’re both useless then,” Catra joked as well and grinned at Adora, who was peeking at her through her fingers.

“Hey there, what can I get you two?”

Adora and Catra jerked their heads in the direction of the voice and Adora immediately regained her composure when she saw who the girl waiting to take on their orders was.

“Perfuma! Why didn’t you tell me that you were working here today?” Adora beamed at the girl and Catra couldn’t hold herself back and began checking their waitress out, eyes carefully roaming her body up and down. Adora knowing that girl and her making her date beam at her like this could mean that this “Perfuma” was potential competition. Why she felt the sudden need to ascertain dominance over that girl was beyond her however.

“I came here on short notice, someone called in sick like five minutes before their shift,” Perfuma explained, and if even if she’d been annoyed because of that, it didn’t show.

Catra watched her balance herself on one roller-skate-covered foot and then caught Perfuma sending her a wide smile. She felt caught, and her face flushed red against her will.

“It’s nice that I get to meet your date, though,” the girl said, adjusting a flower that was stuck in her hair. “I’m Perfuma. I got to school with Adora,” she introduced herself and while Catra felt absolutely no interest in getting to know her, she forced a smile out of herself in return and said, “Catra. Nice… to meet you.”

“Have you already decided on something?” Perfuma asked again and clicked her ball-pen, ready to write down their orders.

“I would like the strawberry milkshake, you know, that super big one,” Adora ordered and then looked over at Catra.

“I would like the tropical milkshake but lactose free,” Catra said and quickly Adora turned to Perfuma and added, “then make mine lactose free as well. And two straws, please.”

“Sure!” Perfuma chirped. “Anything else? Something to eat maybe?”

Adora looked at Catra to see if she wanted something to eat, but Catra shook her head.

“Nope, we’re fine,” Adora said and Perfuma nodded.

“Alright, I will be back in a few minutes,” the freckle-faced blondie said and gave Catra a wink that almost made her blush _again_ (like seriously, what was she getting at?), then she went off to prepare their orders, swirling around a little on her roller-skates.

“So, you’re lactose intolerant?” Adora asked, elbow resting on the table and her head placed on her hand.

“Please don’t make fun of me. It’s terrible.”  

Adora just snorted, a teasing smirk finding residence on her lips. “Like ‘being-stuck-on-the-toilet-for-hours’-kind of terrible?”

“You’re not actually asking me that on our first date, are you?” Catra rolled her eyes and swatted at Adora with her menu, who only grinned at her more widely, catching the menu in her hand and smacking Catra across her head with it in turn. The brunette clicked her tongue at her and adjusted her headband, grinning at their playful banter.

“Just making sure what I’m getting myself into,” Adora confessed with a shrug of her shoulders and a wink that made everything in Catra tingle violently.

In that moment another waitress swooshed past them and Catra observed how she elegantly weaved through the tables and chairs on her roller-skates and an idea popped into her head.

“Do you know if they’re looking for people at the moment? I think Entrapta would really enjoy working here.”

“They’re always looking for people, I’ve worked here before, too,” Adora explained and Catra noticed that her eyes had never left her face the whole time Catra had been observing the other waitress.

“What?” she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious under all that intense staring Adora was doing.

“Nothing,” Adora said and Catra almost wanted to protest, but then she added on, “I just love your eyes. They’re so… fascinating. I don’t know which color I like better on you, but then again, I don’t have to decide because both look fantastic. I just… really enjoy looking at them.”

Catra peeked down at the table for a second and noticed that Adora’s left hand was resting pretty much in the center of the table.

Her complimenting her eyes made the butterflies in Catra’s stomach roar to life at full force, sending the same tingles from before all through her body at a million miles per hour.

In another short moment of courage, Catra placed her right hand right in front of Adora’s left one, their fingertips brushing against each other.

“Thanks,” Catra said quietly. She was so not used to being complimented this excessively, what with never having been out on a date or having had a girlfriend before. This was all new to her, even though she could be quite flirty if she wanted to. Still, she had mostly done that to get her will or to get something she had wanted from other people, and this, this was an entirely new context.

She felt so small, inexperienced, vulnerable because she felt like she could share her whole world with Adora, who appeared to have so much more experience than her, and on top of it all was also the fact that she’d never opened up to anyone besides Scorpia, and even she didn’t know the whole story that was Catra’s miserable life in the orphanage. But for whatever unexplainable reason, with Adora, everything just came to her so naturally.

The flirting, the touching, yes, maybe even the over-sharing.

Catra really didn’t know what to make of it all.

Her mind went even more blank when Adora’s pointer finger suddenly jerked forward and softly stroked over her own finger. It was as if Adora was testing the waters and if Catra had a little bit more experience, she would have found even more courage to actually lace their fingers together.

However, as if reading her mind, Adora did just that in her stead.

Though, only for a split moment, before she unlaced their fingers again after having brought Catra’s hand up from the table, and her palm now resting against Adora’s in mid-air.

“Your hands are so much smaller than mine.”

“Pfft,” Catra stuck her tongue out at Adora, who grinned at her but both did not dare to move their hands, just letting them linger against each other in the air for one more self-indulgent moment.

Catra observed in what kind of way her hand fitted in Adora’s and noticed that the jock’s fingers were so much longer and rougher than hers.

Then her eyes wandered from their fingers to Adora’s face and their eyes made contact. And just like every other time that their eyes had met, this time also made her heart leap in her chest.

And just like that time on the court, Adora’s smile vanished, turning into something way more serious and Catra could still not tell what it meant.

Adora was just about to open her mouth, but before whatever she had wanted to say had the chance to come out, Perfuma was at their table once again, placing their orders in front of them.

“Here you go. Enjoy!”

“Thanks, Perfuma,” Adora said and rubbed her hands together, eyes glistening lustfully when they took in the massive strawberry milkshake with a puffy, white cloud of cream on top of it with some strawberries sprinkled in between.

Catra’s milkshake had a piece of pineapple attached to the glass and a fancy palm tree decoration straw next to the normal straw in it as well.

Perfuma gave a little content giggle and skated off to take on other orders.

“So, why exactly did you order two straws?” Catra asked. She had one straw for herself anyway, so why should Adora order two? Even if Catra had wanted to try her drink, it wouldn’t have been necessary.

“To do this!” Adora exclaimed and Catra almost facepalmed herself when her date took both of the straws in between her lips and started sucking.

“So I can drink this faster!” Adora eventually admitted proudly, thinking that she had done something cool or smart or impressive. Catra didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was making herself look like an utter nerd.

“And right when I thought that you were such a hopeless romantic,” Catra remarked sarcastically and took a slow sip from her milkshake as well, closing her eyes and enjoying the way it cooled her down.

She almost choked on her next sip when she opened up her eyes again and saw a spoon with white cream and a delicious, red strawberry almost poking her nose.

“What’s going on now?” Catra wanted to know and Adora only shoved the spoon even further in her face.

“Try it,” Adora urged and Catra was almost dumbstruck. And a little flustered. And a bit embarrassed.

No one had fed her stuff before. Why would they? She’s not a baby, she can feed herself just fine.

But sure, she knew that this was supposed to be something couples did or something like that that was supposed to be cute, but she just felt a little stupid doing that. Wasn’t that just extremely sappy?

But then again, she had probably provoked it and now she had to pay the price for challenging Adora like that.

She sighed. “Fine,” and opened her mouth.

Adora was careful with placing the spoon inside her mouth. And while Catra’s lips closed around the cream and strawberry, she saw how Adora was expectantly looking at her with a goofy grin on her face.

It made her blush and she immediately averted her eyes.

“How’s it taste?”

“...Good.” Catra didn’t admit that it probably tasted a million times better because Adora had been the one feeding it to her. She still thought it was stupid, but she could not deny that she had also liked it and maybe even understood the appeal of it a little bit better now.  
She looked down at her milkshake and shoved it towards Adora. “You can have a sip from my milkshake too, by the way. And you can also eat the pineapple if you want, I don’t really like it.”

“Sure!” And without making use of one of her two straws, Adora took Catra’s straw between her lips. For whatever stupid reason, it made Catra’s heart beat faster.

This was an indirect kiss, wasn’t it?

But, absolutely oblivious to all things Adora evoked in Catra, the jock just said, “Yours is good too. Maybe I shouldn’t order the same thing all the time.” Adora wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. “Hey, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but… does your eye still hurt?”

Yeah, Catra really didn’t feel like talking about it because she thought she looked like an absolute dumbass with that huge black ring around her eye, but she just shrugged and replied, “Sometimes. It’s kind of a pounding pain sometimes. And it’s annoying that it’s swollen so much because it always feels like something is in front of my eye.”

Suddenly, she felt a cold pressure being applied right under her black eye and swallowed the yelp of surprise and _pain_ when she, all of a sudden, felt a welcome coolness help ease the pounding.

“You have to cool it,” Adora simply stated and just then Catra noticed that it was Adora’s ice cold thumb that was resting right under her eye.

She almost gave in to holding up her composure and leaned her head harder against the palm of Adora’s hand resting on her cheek, but she schooled herself in the last second. Being so weak in front of someone else was something that had been beat out of her as a child after all.

Still… no one had ever really touched her with such a tenderness before. All the parts of her body were screaming for more, but she had to control herself. Adora was a basically still a stranger.

It was embarrassing how touch-starved her body was that someone she barely knew could have such an effect on her. But at the same time, it felt so incredibly good that Adora was being so gentle to her - that Adora was giving her attention and showed so much interest in her and also  _wanted to touch her_.

_“You’re worthless. No one will ever love you, you insolent child.”_

The words rang in her ears like rattlesnakes rattling their tails in warning before they would strike.

But they were also drowned pretty quickly.

Because Adora began stroking her thumb over her cheek, and Catra bit down on her lip harshly to keep the relieved whimper from being released from her throat. She played it down by slightly moving her head away from Adora’s hand, who looked a little hurt and puzzled, as if she had done something wrong yet again, but Catra only shook her head and said, “It hurts when you press down on it, you dummy.”

“Oh, s- yeah, nevermind,” Adora almost apologized again but caught herself in the last instant and already lowered her hand, but the second it was again resting on the table, Catra immediately put hers on top of the blonde’s hand.

“Good, you’re learning,” Catra chuckled and squeezed the hand under hers, eliciting an incredibly hard to catch smile on Adora’s lips as if she was trying not to smile right now.

“So, where do you live?” Catra asked after both had resumed drinking their milkshakes and felt like it was a good opportunity to get to know more about Adora.

“I actually live with my best friend and her mom. They also were the ones that got me out of my foster home.”  
“Your best friend’s mom adopted you?” Catra asked with wide eyes. “Wow. That must be pretty cool?”

“It’s not exactly like that. She’s just like my… legal guardian. It’s kinda the complicated situation but I’m so happy that I get to live with them. Although it can have its pros and cons living with your best friend,” Adora laughed lightly and seemed to be lost in her memories for a moment.

“Like what?” Catra wanted to know.

“You get to do a lot of movie nights together. You get to snuggle a lot, and you can have amazing breakfast at like two in the PMs. But sometimes it’s just too much being in close quarters with someone for so long. You realize and notice things that annoy you, and sometimes it’s even things that are so microscopic, like chewing loudly or whistling while you do chores. I think anyone with siblings knows what that’s like, although we never really like calling our relationship… sisterly. We’re best friends. And we want to stay best friends.”

“I see. Well, yeah it’s the same with Scorpia, Entrapta and me. I’m just glad that every one of us has their own room or otherwise we would have a battle royal every two to three days and smash each others heads in.”

“Yeah, well, Glimmer wouldn’t stand a chance against me if we had a physical fight,” Adora laughed before she sipped at her drink very audibly.

“I bet I could take you on,” Catra challenged and Adora almost spilled her drink everywhere when she choked on it.

“Are... you sure?” Adora probed, coughing up the milkshake.

“Yeah. I may not look it, but I’m actually pretty athletic. And _strong,_ ” she really did her best with letting the last word sound as seductive as possible and when she suddenly felt Adora’s hand fidget under hers, she was convinced that it had worked.

“Well, I guess you will have to prove that to me. And seeing that we’re both almost done with our milkshakes, I suggest that we do the boxing machine next.”

So, they did just that.

Adora paid for the milkshakes as she had promised, and a few minutes later, they stood in front of the only boxing machine in the whole arcade, watching two boys try their luck but failing horribly when one of them missed the ball and instead hurled himself against the machine and almost passed out when his head met the ruthless metal. Both boys walked away in shame and Catra and Adora had to try very hard to stop their laughter from bursting out of them because otherwise the whole arcade would have heard them crying laughing.

“Okay, okay, you go first,” Adora said, wiping a tear away and pointed at the machine before she crossed her arms expectantly.

Catra nodded, still trying to calm down, taking a few deep breaths as well and rolled her shoulders. She looked at the high score lighting up in big, red letters on a small screen under the current score of 000. It read the numbers 986.

Catra took another preparatory breath and released it right after, got into a boxing stance and threw the first punch. The ball loudly slapped back into the machine and the 000 score from before quickly went up. It reached 200, 300, 400, 500, 600… and only slowed down when it reached the 700 mark.

The final score was 725. She turned around to catch Adora’s reaction, who did look very much impressed.

“Holy crap,” the jock said and she had even let her arms fall to her sides.  
"Told you,” Catra said with a proud huff. “Now you, She-Ra.”

“Fine,” Adora said, cracking her knuckles as she had done before on the DDR machine, and got into a similar stance as Catra had.

The punch happened so fast that Catra barely had time to register it. The score went up so quickly that she didn’t even catch the first 400 points lighting up on the machine in a bright red color.

Adora’s score quickly passed the 700 mark too, and it was obvious that she would beat her once again.

The score came to a stop at 987 points.

“Yuss!” Adora cheered, pumping her fist into the air. “I was trying so hard to break my old record.”

“Of course,” Catra mumbled. “Of course that was your high score.”

“Maybe I do spend too much time at this arcade,” the blonde jock wondered out loud but was clearly only joking.

And to be honest? Catra was impressed nonetheless. Adora was the perfect image of what Catra would have believed to be a lesbian jesus besides Hayley Kiyoko.

Strong, good-looking, kind-hearted, well-mannered and fun to be around, and yeah, had she already said _strong_?

She really hoped that her and Adora would do stuff like this more often after this date. She really wanted to spend more time with her, too.

“Okay so, I have to confess something to you.”

Catra almost thought that her heart would stop beating when Adora turned around to her, face guilt-stricken and voice lowered.

The brunette tilted her head in question. “What is it?”

Adora hesitated for a moment. Then she heaved a sigh and took Catra’s hand in between hers, making Catra’s blood pound in her ears when her heart began excitedly racing in her chest.

“I gotta show you something.”

Catra silently let herself be dragged across the arcade before they stopped in front of a huge glass window that showed all the prizes you could win at the arcade.

“I came here with a certain goal in mind,” Adora spoke and pulled something out from her jacket. It were redemption tickets. And a lot of them.

“Do you see that sword over there?” the blonde pointed at something behind the glass panel. It was a massive sword, with a bright, golden handle and a blue gemstone in the middle of it. The whole sword looked incredibly authentic even though it could have come out of a cartoon the way it was designed.

“I want that. I want it so bad.”

Catra noticed the way Adora was clenching the tickets in her hands and the fire burning in her eyes when she made eye contact with the sword.

Despite the fact that the amount of tickets you needed for that sword was _insane_ it was probably also very overpriced, but who was she to ruin the fun for her date?

“It’s a very rare replica of the Sword of Protection. You can still buy them online, but they’re way too expensive to get that way,” Adora explained and that’s how Catra’s first concern was thrown out the window anyhow.

“I’m so close to getting it. I only need a few more tickets.”

“Sure, I will help you,” Catra answered without Adora even needing to ask.

“You will?” Her date looked a lot like a puppy that had just been adopted into a loving family. Excited, hopeful and also a little jumpy with excitement, and if the heart-eyes emoji were a person, it would have been Adora in this exact moment. Her whole form was vibrating with zeal and eagerness.

“Yes, come one. Let’s get you that stupid sword.”

Adora’s smile was probably brighter than the sun.

“If you want me to help, we should go to the coin pusher next,” Catra suggested and made Adora raise an eyebrow at that.

“Why that thing? That’s super boring.”

“Because I’m good at it. It’s why they call me “money cat”, you see.”

Adora shrugged but said, “Alright. I trust you.” And Catra really liked the sound of that.

Fifteen minutes later, Adora stood next to her, mouth agape.  
“Yep, they call me money cat for a reason,” Catra said as she casually picked up the huge pile of tickets to their feet and handed it to a perplex Adora.

“That was amazing! I didn’t know you could actually win, like, anything at this game,” Adora sounded clearly impressed and maybe it did make Catra’s chest swell a bit with pride at her skills. “I just thought you just stood around and did… nothing. Yeah, clearly I had no idea what I was expecting from that game.”

But then she looked at the tickets Catra had just won for her and pointed out, “We’re so close to getting the sword!”

“What do you want to do next?” Catra asked and looked around the arcade for any potential game herself.

Adora paused for a second before a seriousness befell her face unlike any that Catra had seen before. Then, she very dramatically said,

“Whac-A-Mole.”

 

Catra had never seen someone so talented at smashing ugly plastic moles across their heads with a soft, black plastic mallet like Adora.

She almost looked graceful, like a blonde, bloodthirsty viking, the way she swung that mallet at sonic speed, and Catra was afraid for just a second that Adora would actually break the game.

“Alright, phew,” Adora swiped the sweat that was trickling down her temples off her face and counted the tickets she had gotten. “Almost there.”

“Is there actually something you’re not good at?” Catra asked all of a sudden.

Adora, thinking about the question, honestly answered with the thing that came to her mind first,

“Math.”

If Catra hadn’t already been all about developing the hugest crush on Adora the second she had come running towards her with her hair floating behind her like a golden cape yesterday evening after the game, this would have been the final push to make her understand why exactly all these girls at the game yesterday had been holding these weird signs up for Adora.

“I hope you’re not getting bored?” Adora made sure and Catra quickly shook her head.

“Not at all. We will get you that sword today and if it’s the last thing that we do,” Catra put a hand on Adora’s shoulder to show her that she really meant it and Adora had to make sure that she didn’t just sweep Catra off her feet and take her into the tightest hug the brunette would have ever experienced right there and then.

She was so glad that Catra was supporting her in her little quest to get the sword. She would have been okay with Catra saying no to her, too. But of course, the opportunity to win her sword today was one she gladly took.

“Do _you_ wanna try now?” Adora asked and held the mallet out to Catra.  

“I’m not sure, I haven’t really practiced that game like at all,” Catra replied and scratched her hair under her headband.

“Try anyway,” Adora said and gave her a thumbs up. Catra reluctantly took the mallet and put a token in the slot for the machine.

The first mole that she hit woke something primal in her. A need to hunt. A need to catch. A want to hit and destroy. The second mole appeared to her left and she was quick in hitting it on its head. But the game was getting faster each time that she hit a mole.

Still, this primal instinct in her took over completely after her fifth successful hit and she turned into a literal cat-like war machine hunting down unafraid plastic moles, finally understanding the thrill of this game.

She hit left and right, up and down, faster and faster, and she swore she almost felt herself growl like some sort of primeval saber tooth tiger as the game progressed.

“Damn, I think you’re a natural at this game,” Adora complimented her when the game was over and the adrenaline in Catra’s body wore off.

“I never thought smashing cheap plastic moles with a plastic hammer could be that much fun,” Catra admitted, catching her breath.

Adora laughed and took the tickets Catra had won from the machine. “I think it’s a great way to train your reflexes. But then again, almost everything here is.”

Catra put the mallet back into its space and asked, “So, how many points do you still need?”

“A few hundred. We can also go if you want, I can come back another da-”

  
“No, I have an idea.” After Catra had interrupted her, she walked back to the coin pusher machines and circled around them.  
“There,” she whispered after she had almost completed a round and Adora followed her to one of the machines in wonderment.

“What’s up with that machine?” Adora asked, curious as to what Catra was up to and why she had chosen that exact machine.

But Catra didn’t reply and instead, got a token from their shared bucket and pushed it inside the machine. However, nothing really happened and in their bucket were almost no tokens left.

“I need two or three more,” Catra said and held out her hand so Adora could place another token in it.

Adora, trusting Catra with her life if she had to and now with whatever she was doing, handed her the tokens and her date continued pushing them inside the machine.

The second token pushed one yellow coin down but nothing else really happened.

But then, when Catra pushed the next token in, something else that wasn’t a yellow type fell down, and that’s when Adora noticed a triumphant smile on Catra’s lips.

“Wait here for a second,” the smaller girl said and Adora watched her leave the machine, having absolutely no idea what was going on.

Catra came back with the guy from the counter and he suddenly opened up the glass window of the machine and got something out from it which he then handed to Catra before he disappeared again.

“There you go. Now get your stupid sword, you useless lesbian.” Catra put the shiny piece of paper in her hands.

When Adora realized what Catra had given her, she almost felt her eyeballs drop out of her skull.

“This thing is worth ten thousand points?!”

“Uh-uh,” Catra nodded and already shoved Adora in the direction of the prize area.

 

Five minutes later, Adora was finally able to hold the sword in her hands. The streetlights illuminating the jock’s beautiful face almost made it seem as if she were crying, but Catra didn’t believe Adora to be someone who so easily cried over a plastic sword.

“I’m literally the happiest human being on earth right now,” Bright Moon’s basketball captain said, eyes and fingers glued to the replica in her hands as they stood outside the arcade. It had already gotten dark and a bit cold outside, so Catra zipped her jacket up all the way while Adora had put on her letter jacket much to Catra’s dismay. She wouldn’t have minded goggling at Adora’s firm biceps a little bit more.

“Thank you so much, Catra! This was the best date ever!”

“This date wasn’t even my ide-”

And then Catra was pulled into a tight hug and she felt the whole strength of these wonderful muscles she had been admiring the whole day all applied to her.

“You’re… wel...come.” It was hard to breathe like that, with biceps almost as big as your head pressing into your throat, and when Adora finally released her, she almost doubled over in pain when her lungs felt as if they were on fire.

Meanwhile, Adora - beaming like a child - was also swinging the sword around like one and giggled while she did so.

“I’ll definitely put that thing over my bed.”

Catra, finally able to stand on her feet again without her lungs collapsing in on themselves, shook her head in amusement. “You’re such a fucking nerd.”

“Maybe,” Adora agreed a little self-consciously and held a hand out for Catra to take. “Let’s get you home.”

Catra happily took the offered hand and smiled to herself when Adora squeezed hers back tightly.

  


On the drive back to Catra’s house, they had a lot more to talk about when the ice had finally been broken between them at the arcade. They talked about their schools, their friends and that Adora’s best friends were called Glimmer and Bow and that Bow loved wearing crop tops and gave her fashion advice all the time while Glimmer and her always did stupid things together that weren’t always really legal and that would make Bow question their sanity more often than not; then they talked about how Catra had once helped Entrapta build a robot that they used to participate in robot wars and even making first place and that Scorpia was really scared of horror movies, even though she was always the one recommending watching them together.

 

“I think we should do that next,” Adora said when they pulled up at Catra’s house. When they had parked, Catra had already felt a sudden wave of sadness hitting her when she realized that their date was coming to an end and that her and Adora would have to say goodbye to each other. But when Adora was apparently already planning their next date, it lifted her mood to heights that were far above the metaphorical clouds.

“You mean the movies?” Catra asked to clarify and Adora nodded.

“Yes, I haven’t been to the movies in a while.”

“To be honest, me neither. But yeah, we can do that for sure,” and right as Catra said that, she wished that they could go on their next date right then and there - she didn’t really feel like waiting for however long it would take to meet Adora again. To be more specific, she didn’t even want to have to say goodbye to her.

“Are you free this weekend?” Adora asked, beaming like the sun and almost lighting up the whole car with her smile, and the car was currently bathing in complete darkness except for one miserable street light outside illuminating it, so that had to mean something.

Catra was in fact not free that weekend, but it didn’t stop her from answering, “Yes. Absolutely. This weekend is fine,” anyway.  
And she definitely didn’t regret it when she saw Adora’s smile turning even wider.

Then the mood suddenly shifted when both of them didn’t make any sign to move or get out of the car. But they had to, eventually.

There was just one question nagging at the backs of Catra’s and Adora’s minds likewise and it was one both of them were not confident enough to address: _How exactly_ were they going to say goodbye to each other?

Should they just say goodbye and then leave, without any kind of physical contact? They did do a lot of touching today, so both knew the other was at least comfortable enough to initiate body contact, maybe even in some more delicate type of way.

So, should they hug? It was the most reasonable thing to do, wasn’t it? It was physical contact that both of them had started to develop a liking for but it also wasn’t too much… not as much as a kiss, at least.

Or should they… kiss? But it was _only their first date._

Before the tension in the car could become too much, Catra wanted to suggest that she should probably go inside, but Adora beat her to it.

“I will walk you to your door.” And without another word, Adora left the car and Catra did the same.

An awkward silence lingered between them like a knife that poked them in the ribs and kept them apart from each other.  
Adora had her hands stuffed in her pockets and Catra didn’t really know what to do with hers. She knew that she really wanted to feel Adora’s around hers one last time, though.

And then there was the door. Red, chipped wood in front of them, a gate that marked the end of their evening together.

Catra turned to Adora and Adora looked up at her with waves of uncertainty crashing in her ocean blue eyes.

Then, Catra took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts.

“Thank you for asking me out on this date, Adora. I really enjoyed myself today. I had a lot of fun with you and I’m really looking forward to our next date.”

Adora took a step closer and Catra almost thought she would lose her balance when the space between them decreased drastically and she was pushed against the door behind her.

And then there was Adora’s scent, and it was intoxicating - something sweet and pungent, like men’s deodorant mixed with a little bit of sweat from the physical activities they had done today.

It was irresistible, like Adora herself.

“Thank you for agreeing to go on this date with me, Catra. And also, thank you for helping me out with my sword. It meant a lot to me.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Catra almost rolled her eyes but was reminded that this was now the moment where they had to decide what to do. Leave like this, hug or kiss?

Catra surprised herself when she reached out for Adora and hugged her arms around her middle. But when Adora hugged her back, it just felt right.

This felt right.

They really did click.

“Good night, Catra,” Adora whispered into the night.  
“Good night, Adora,” Catra whispered back.

They let go of each other, but Catra, already expecting Adora to turn on her heels and leave right then, was surprised to see that Adora was only hesitatingly retreating to her car.

The blonde jock took a few steps backwards at first, and very awkwardly said, “So, see you this weekend.”

Catra snickered loudly.  
“See you this weekend, nerd.” She waved at Adora, who was still only taking slow steps backwards, their eyes never really leaving each other.

Catra would be lying if she didn’t feel an intense urge to pull Adora back in that moment. An overwhelming urge to make her stay.  
To feel her close to her just one more time.

“Sleep tight, Catra!” Adora shouted back, now farther away but still walking backwards until she eventually tripped over some pebbles on the ground and almost lost her balance.

Catra started laughing, shaking her head at the blonde, her heart beating a gazillion miles per hour in her chest.

Her hands clenching. Already missing Adora between them.

Her eyes were immediately back on the blonde jock, whose face was now a bright red, and who was fiercely glaring at the ground as if to blame it for making her stumble.

God, she was such a freaking cute dumbass.

“Hey, Adora?”

Adora raised her head. Their eyes met. A string was pulled in her heart.

“Is it appropriate to kiss on a first date?”

Adora’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened. Then closed.

Then, there was this seriousness on her face again and Catra felt like she was finally about to find out what it meant.

Her body moved and Adora’s did as well and they met in the middle of the front yard.

“What if it isn’t?” Adora breathed against her face, their arms already wrapping around each other, Catra’s around Adora’s neck and Adora’s around Catra’s waist.

“Well, then fuck the rules,” Catra breathed back, her eyes locking onto Adora’s peachy lips.

And then they kissed.

It was as if all the little things Catra had been feeling this evening were now happening all at once, but with a tremendous force and reality to it that it was breathtaking. Every spark between them, every little tingle in her stomach, every time her heart started to race - all of that was reaching its peak right this second.

But no, it weren’t even exactly these things that were so breathtaking about this moment.

 _Adora_ was what was breathtaking.

The way her strong arms held her so firmly and safely against her front, the way Adora kissed her so tenderly yet with such devotion and resoluteness, as if the kiss was something she just _had to_ claim for herself, that Catra almost forget her name.

Adora felt her head spin as well. She had never acted this bold, had never kissed on a first date, had never felt something as right as this before.

Catra was amazing, she felt amazing, she _tasted_ amazing.

They only parted when their lungs started burning.

They looked at each other in shock at first, taken aback at their own wantonness for a second.

Catra was the first to speak.  
“This… was okay, right?”

 Adora looked at her, face stern.  
“I’m sure as hell not going to apologize for it.”

Catra snorted, then chuckled, then started laughing, pressing herself even more against Adora and burying her face in her collarbone.

“God, you’re something else, Adora.”

“And I’m really glad that I threw that ball in your face.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in desperate need of a beta reader, so if you're interested hmu at my tumblr kouhasbuttcheek  
> or just hmu at my tumblr in general, you can talk to me there, I also post cheap She-Ra memes for free  
> and if you feel like it, you could also drop a little prompt in my ask box and maybe I will do it for you 
> 
> I love y'all. As always, please leave a kudo if you have made it this far or even leave a comment because it's really what keeps authors going.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a kudo or even a comment behind of you liked this fic! It makes an author's day and is what keeps them going. Love y'all.


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